Czech Republic

I've had the pleasure of calling the Czech Republic home
since 2015. Situated in the heart of central Europe - my
favorite part of the world - the country is decidedly
photogenic. It has many historic and architecturally
beautiful towns and cities, as well as areas of great
natural beauty.

This page is where I'll collect some photos from places
I've been in the Czech Republic - at least, when I get
around to adding them here.

Praha

Prague, the Czech capital, hardly needs an introduction.
It fully deserves its international reputation for beauty
and charm, and as a result the center is often packed out
with tourists.

The districts surrounding the center are far quieter, and
a great place to live. They are also beautiful, not just
in terms of having some specific interesting sights, but
also just generally to amble around. Prague 2 is currently
home. Here's how it looks.

Beroun

Beroun is just 30 minutes by train from Praha Smichov
station. A small town, and largely off the tourist radar,
Beroun makes for a pleasant escape from the city. Within
10-15 minutes, the city outskirts give way to green
countryside, farms, and holiday cottages.

Beroun is a pleasant town to wander around, with some nice
views by the river, some pretty streets, and a pleasant
main square. A fairly steep uphill walk leads to views over
the town, as well as the home of a couple of bears! Only
one of them was out and about when I visited, and wandered
off to the enclosure before too long. Still, it's not every
day you get to see a bear. One pleasant surprise in Beroun
was a very good Mexican restaurant, which would be worth
the occasional evening trip out of Prague to enjoy again.

Olomouc

Olomouc lies around 2 hours east of Prague by train. While
one of the lesser known cities of the Czech Republic,
Olomouc has the largest historical city center after Prague,
meaning there's plenty to see. There's an astronomical clock
too, though the Olomouc one was damaged in the second world
war and afterwards repaired during the communist times. The
figures on the clock are, of course, good wholesome workers.

Olomouc is otherwise known for a decidedly smelly kind of
cheese. For maximum effect, it may be served as one ingredient
in a garlic soup, which can also include ham and eggs. It's
delicious, though ensure that anyone you intend to kiss that
evening orders it with you! I was staying not far from the
Moritz brewery, which as well as brewing some tasty and
very refreshing beers also serves up some great food. The
brewery gulaš was excellent.

Plzeň

Plzeň is most famous for giving Pilsner beer its name, but
there's plenty to see here beside the famous brewery. There
are numerous charming buildings, the second largest syngagogue
in all of Europe, and plenty of parks to walk and relax in.
Finding good food was no problem here, nor - of course - was
finding good beer! Here are some photos from around the
city center:

I stayed near the main square, which is huge; a number of
the buildings in the photographs above were found on that
square. The centerpiece is the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew,
its 103 meter high tower being the tallest in the Czech
Republic. I snapped it day and night and, of course, took a
look inside.

Of course, as a fan of beer, I couldn't resist joining a
tour around the brewery (though I freely admit that I'm
not a regular drinker of this particular brew). The enormous
bottling facility (which can produce over 100,000 bottles
per hour - that's quite some beer) was included, as were the
old and new brew houses. The tour culminated in tasting the
unfiltered and unpasteurized version of the beer; of course,
I was too busy enjoying the beer to take any photos of that
part!

Kladno

Situated not much more than 30 minutes north west of Prague,
I was curious how Kladno would compare to Beroun - a town
lying the same distance to the south west of the capital. My
first clue came when looking for a place to stay there: there
weren't many options! Clearly, this was less of a place for
tourists visiting Prague, and deciding to commute it, based
themselves. Thankfully, Penszon U Admirala, near to the
Kladno Město train station, turned out to be lovely.

The area leading from the station towards the center of the
town had no shortage of concrete, though it was at least
colorful.

The center itself, however, had more to offer those who prefer
the more traditional architecture found in Czech towns and
cities. There were a number of interesting and nicely decorated
buildings to see around a park and along the predestrianized
shopping street.

The shopping street led to the main square, set on a slope,
and with a number of pleasant buildings.